Mediation Unlocked: Visionary Insights From The G.L. Sanghi Memorial Lecture 2025

The lecture was conducted to Honour the legacy of Shri G.L. Sanghi, a Senior Advocate, legal luminary, and former president of LAWASIA. It featured a memorial lecture by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri, followed by an engaging panel discussion with Justice Manmohan, Justice Sikri, and Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi.

Justice Sikri emphasized that Mediation is shifting from an alternative to the primary method for dispute resolution. It offers long-term, cost-effective solutions and fosters better relationships faster and more effectively than adversarial systems. He also shared many personal anecdotes of the role of mediation in transformation of relationships from acrimony to harmony.

Panel Discussion: “Mediation as a Profession by 2030”:

The panel was moderated by Ms Anupam Sanghi, senior mediator & advocate specialising in commercial disputes. Ms. Sanghi posed candid questions with a touch of wisdom & wit. She asked Justice Manmohan about the role of courts in advancing institutional mediations and pre-litigation mediation. On behalf of GenNext, she asked the panel, particularly Mr. Rohatgi, on the career path for youngsters who may be keen on practicing mediation as an independent profession. Mr. Rohatgi explained how taking up mediation initially along with other litigation work and patiently building the mediation practice would certainly help youngsters to see it as a career choice.

• Mediation will dominate dispute resolution by 2030, with AI and Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) shaping future practices, especially in business and international trade. To evolve with tech-driven change, mediators will have to embrace relevant novel skills.
• He shared several touching anecdotes to emphasise how he could not get the parties to achieve the desired result as a Judge. However, in mediation their concerns were addressed and relationships transformed, resulting in a win-win solution.
• He stressed on the role of the government to add Pre-litigation mediation clauses in their contracts, Office memorandums to try mediation for certain matters below a threshold to first opt for mediation - that would severely reduce the burden of courts which is presently clogged with cases against the government.

Takeaways from Justice Manmohan:

• The flexibility that mediation offers allows one to find the real dispute between the parties (for instance- Ego, relationship issues). Thus, a mediation forum has greater benefits than courts where the dockets of the judiciary is full (doing about 100 matters a day). Courts can therefore refer a large number of matters to mediation, cutting out many stages in courts, especially certain categories that can be 1st referred for Pre-litigation mediation.
• Courts will play a crucial role in advancing institutional mediation, adhoc mediation has its own limitation. In institutional mediation, you can get domain experts (CA, CS, Engineer) and it is where the hope lies.
• Referral of cases to institutional mediation centers could become a standard practice in the future, ensuring that matters are resolved with the right expertise at the helm. Mediators would need rigorous training to develop special skills for the success of mediations

Takeaways from Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi:

• In our country, we have reached the end of the road with traditional systems of dispute resolution. With an immense backlog of cases (500 Crores approx ), neither courts nor arbitrations have quick redressal - arbitrations are also being looked at as a quasi-courtroom. So, there is no doubt it is critical to have a new system. The way forward is mediation. However, unless litigation is unattractive, becomes costly like it is in the US, people will not choose mediation easily.
• Although we had Mediation even in ancient times, we have been struggling with this adversarial system imposed by the British. So we forgot our own system. Mediation should and will offer lawyers a revenue source. However, it is important to understand that mediation needs to be done beyond family matters to be perceived as a serious career path. Only when it is institutional, it can be increasingly used for corporate / commercial disputes as well.
• The way lawyers have gravitated towards cyber law, intellectual property and other fields, lawyers would also choose mediation as a specialised field. They need to have the patience to see its full potential.

At the end of the memorial event, Ms. Pushp Gupta, Advocate and Senior Mediator & Coordinator-in-Chief Team EMW spoke about the release of the first international perennial mediation quotes calendar, “365 Days of Pearls of Wisdom” compiled by Team E-Mediation Writings (EMW). This was a year-long project of compiling quotes from Supreme Court and High Court judges & mediators from India and 35 countries across the world. She expressed her hope in embracing mediation and discussed the alarming drop in Redressal (ADR) through Litigation for peace and harmony.

Finally, the lecture concluded with the gift of life – a CPR demonstration by Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) started in the name of G.L. Sanghi. Explained in detail to the audience were the signs of a cardiac arrest, dos and don'ts, and appropriate protocol.

The event was organized and hosted by the Sanghi Foundation to advance the cause of access to justice in collaboration with E-Mediation Writings (EMW) and Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI). The benefits and impact of mediation was an eye opener for around 400 participants who attended physically. Many participants attended virtually as it was live-streamed for the members of the fraternity including LAWASIA members globally. Team EMW Gen-Next members Jahnvi Sharma, Sanya Bhatia & Aditi Tyagi, Advocates volunteered towards the successful organising of the event.

Among the esteemed guests present were Justice Swatanter Kumar (Retd.), Justice Anu Malhotra (Retd.), Justice Navin Chawla, Justice Anish Dayal, Justice Amit Bansal, Justice Tara Ganju, Mr. Huzefa Ahmadi, Sr. Adv., Mr. Sandeep Sethi, Sr. Adv., Ms. Tamali Wad, Sr.Adv., Mr. Dhruv Mehta, Sr. Adv., and Mr. R.K. Sanghi, Sr. Adv.

The lecture witnessed a wide audience of students and younger members of the bar. Stories about the transformative impact of Mediation on the legal justice system, role of judiciary, expansive opportunities for legal practitioners and policymakers reverberated through the auditorium. As the discussions surrounding the Mediation Act continue to evolve, the valuable insights shared at the event will continue to serve as a guiding force in the shaping of the future of dispute resolution in our country.

The recording of the event is available for viewing, here